This is a picture of people standing in lines for something. Every where you go..... you stand in lines.
This is actually a picture of a clothing store. People here purchase bales of clothes from Good Will in the states for about $25.00 a bale. They then seperate the bales and resale the clothes in little neighborhood markets like this and make a small profit. The government does not like them to sell clothes in this manner because they have no way of taxing them.... also, it intrudes on profits of clothing manufacturers here in Bolivia.
Isn't he sweet? He is a little boy that lives at Stansberry Home which is an orphanage here in town.
We drove by in a taxi and I saw this little girl peeking out of her doorway and could not resist taking her picture. Notice that she is all bundled up. It was probably about 65 degrees out. People here think that is cold.
This is a common scene. Local women use a cloth to carry their children. If they don't have a child on their back, they more than likely are hauling groceries or kindling, or something to or from their home.
This is someone selling coca leaves. Coca is a plant that cocaine is derived from. Here many people chew it. Often you see men with a big chunk of it stuffed in their cheek. The coca leaf when chewed produces a stimulant which helps them work harder and longer, and it also diminshes their appetite. Coca leaves are often used to mae tea. The tea is good for your stomach. It is also drank when you plan to go to the mountains because it helps with altitude sickness.
Here is another cute kid that lives at the Stansberry Orphanage in Santa Cruz.
This is a cemetery. Most graves are stacked one on top of the other.
Buses (or micros as they are called here), can be very crowded, especially on a Friday or Saturday night when people are getting off work, or in the afternoon when high school students are coming and going to school. Some times you feel like you have to be a cantorshanist just to ride the bus. Many of the young men are very polite and let and old lady like me have their seat. They also give away their seats for women with small children.
Believe it or not,............. but this is the hardware store. We call it the Kotchibotchi. There are no home depots or Menards here!
Again, a common scene of a women carrying her young on her back. By the looks of them, I would say they are indeginous. 
Often you see women sitting along busy streets selling peanuts, chips, vegetables or fruit. This is how they make a living.
This is just one of the local buses. Number 14...... we ride it a lot.
An indian girl. Note the mud hut made of simple sticks. This is all that some of them know.
There are many poor people. I'm surprised they allowed me to take their picture. Most of them are pretty camera shy.
This is what the road to the mountains looks like. It is very dangerous to take these roads at night. Sometimes the roads wash out, and........... animals wander around on these at night as well. There are no rules of the road.... only suggestions, so people usually drive in the middle of the road. You can not see arond the curve. You just pray real hard all the way up the mountain.
Here is a bus that got over too far because someone tried to pass them. They ended up getting stuck in the little side ditch on the side of the hill.
This is what a micro looks like from inside. I like to go to the back so I can see all that is going on.
Again, traffic......... going up into the mountains.
The fish market
Women playing with their tarro cards in the market.
This guy looks to be happy at what he does. He is a shoe repairman. No one throws anything away here............... especially shoes. No matter what shape they are in..... they will fix them.
Don't look down!
A women selling her wares next to the bus stop on the third ring.
These are some boys selling oranges in our neighborhood.
One of the many meat markets. 
This is a scene from a local market.
This little girl is a Qiathua Indian
This is a typical street scene. Fortunately it isn't real busy.
The wall around the SAM Guesthouse. We had it raised by 2 more feet!
These are two kids on the micro that just loved the idea of getting their picture taken.
A local church is having a party for some of the kids.
Two little girls with their shaved heads. There are two reasons for shaving their heads. For one thing it is very practical, since there is a problem with lice from time to time. Also, many Bolivians practice a birthday custom of shaving the childs head at a certain age. I never really did figure that one out.
This is Adrena Sprouse and one of the girls from the Jesus de Ninas (girls home).
Unfortunately, there are people that live in the ditches in town.
This women is sellling coca leaves................
This is an ambulance. It is not very big inside...... there is nothing but a gurney, and.... the gurney does not come out. You have to carry the person into the ambuance to put them in the gurney. There are no life saving drugs, oxygen or aparatus inside the ambulance to help the victim should they need medical help. The only thing the ambulance is transport people. And...... if you are an American .... forget it! You are probably too long to fit in the ambulance.
This is peanut soup. Yes,.......... that is right, that is a chickens head in the soup. Aren't you special to actually get the head!!!! Many Bolvian soups are made with chicken and the use the "whole" chicken, head and all. Even the feet are thrown in the pot!
Very few Bolivians have their own transportation. Most Bolivians use the buses or take taxis to get from place to place. A few lucky families do have their own motorcycle. You see here a family riding somewhere together. I've seen as many as six people on a motorcycle at one time. What is rare is seeing someone with a helmet on. Most people don't have helmets.
The rainy season here starts in December and ends in February. The last couple years have been real hard for flooding. I got this picture out of the local newspaper. You can see that some people had it really hard.
This.... believe it or not is a cocheroach! I did not take this picture, a friend did. They had been working outside late at night with lights on so they could see what they were doing. The lights attracted this bug to their work site. Fortunately we keep things pretty clean at the guesthouse so I haven't had to encounter anything like this.
Whoops! I must of put the picture of the ambulance in again....
ANTS!!!!! They are everywhere!!!! This picture is a blow up of some ants that were attracted to the kitchen counter when a speck of cheese was left behind. These ants are really minute in size and they are real pests. They get on your skin and crawl, but they are so small that you can't see them some times. It is something that you really need to get use to. One team came and had candy in their room to give to the kids at the orphanage. The ants got into it before they could put it in a safe place and devoured much of it.
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